WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has said he is withdrawing National Guard troops from several US cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, after a Supreme Court ruling last week undermined his authority to use troops for policing.

However, he left the door open to sending federal forces “in a much different and stronger form.”

“We are removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, despite the fact that crime has been greatly reduced by having these great Patriots in those cities,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on New Year's Eve.

He suggested the possibility of future deployments, writing, “We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again.”

In blocking the guard deployment to Chicago, the Supreme Court suggested that a president’s power to federalize the guard — which federal law allows when he can no longer execute the laws of the United States with “regular forces” — would not apply to protecting agents enforcing immigration laws.

While the ruling was a blow to his administration’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, it appeared likely Trump could still invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy regular forces to Chicago and other cities.

A separate National Guard deployment that Trump authorized in New Orleans began Tuesday as part of a heavy security presence for New Year’s celebrations a year after an attack on revelers on Bourbon Street killed 14 people. And Trump gave no indication he is pulling back from using the National Guard in Washington, DC, where it is operating under a different federal law that was not at issue before the Supreme Court.

Trump’s withdrawal announcement was welcomed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, who said in a statement the administration was using the guard as “political pawns” and blasted Trump as “a President desperate to be a king.”

“While our rule of law remains under threat, our democratic institutions are holding,” Bonta wrote. “My office is not backing down — and we’re ready for whatever fights lie ahead.”

A federal judge had previously ordered the return of control of the California National Guard to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, but that ruling had been paused while the administration appealed. The Trump administration said in court papers on Tuesday that it was no longer requesting a pause on that portion of the order.

On Wednesday, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the lower court order and directed the Trump administration to return control of the troops to Newsom.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, echoed similar sentiments in response to Trump’s announcement.

“He lost in court when Illinois stood up against his attempt to militarize American cities with the National Guard,” Pritzker said on social media. “Now Trump is forced to stand down.”

Hundreds of troops had been sent to Chicago and Portland, but had not yet been assigned to patrol city streets, as the legal challenges played out in court.

Trump has said the troops are needed to enforce the law and crackdown on crime and illegal immigration. Critics deny that the troops are necessary, and accuse Trump of attempting an "authoritarian" crackdown, which threatens democracy. — Agencies